T

he proliferation of social media in the country has influenced the way journalists do their job, according to a recent survey.

The survey, released on Tuesday by public relations firm Maverick Indonesia in cooperation with Paramadina University, found that 84 percent of the 363 journalists they interviewed claimed to have written news stories based on issues discussed in the social media sphere.

Some 59.4 percent of respondents also claimed to have interviewed people because they were 'intrigued' by comments they made on the Internet.

Throughout 2012, researchers from Maverick Indonesia and Paramadina University surveyed journalists on how social media had affected their news production process in eight areas: Sumatra, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Ambon and Papua.

The researchers concluded that although 78 percent of all respondents still relied on mainstream media, they were also influenced by social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or personal blogs in their news writing process.

According to Totok Soefijanto, a research team member from Paramadina University, the fact that Indonesians are among the most active social media users in the world makes it hard for journalists to ignore the presence of social media.

'Indonesia is among the top five countries with the most active Facebook and Twitter accounts. No wonder journalists have started to use social media as a reference tool,' Totok said, citing a 2012 research result by Semiocast, a France-based research firm.

AJI chairman Eko Maryadi said that it was okay for journalists to use social media as one of their sources as long as they stick to the journalistic code of ethics.

 'Journalists need to interview citizens to get comments on a particular issue. Now, citizens speak their minds through social media without being asked to. They speak about floods and traffic jams. So it's okay to quote netizens' comments,' Eko said.

'If journalists, for example, write about how netizens criticized then Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo on Twitter in October 2010 for the traffic they experienced after the heavy rains, they have to also interview Fauzi Bowo. Both sides need to be covered to be balanced,' Eko added.

Press council member Yosep Adi Prasetyo said that journalists have to verify the information they get from social media.

'Information circulating on the Internet is not always accurate. There is no set code of ethics in social media,' Yosep said.

'For example, when there was a rumor about the death of Iwan Fals in the social media, a Kompas.com journalist called Iwan Fals directly and was instantly able to refute the widely spread rumor. This is the role of mainstream media because social media practitioners are not equipped with basic journalistic skills like seeking verification, covering both sides and neutrality,' Yosep added. (ogi)